On our way home!

Well, we survived our trip into the Amazon and are on our way home today! And wow, what an adventure we had! God blessed us with an incredible time and some much needed refreshment and renewal as a family. We are ready to jump back into school again.

I'll be posting lots of photos in the days to come as well as highlights from our trip so be sure and keep up with our posts. From swimming with pink dolphins, to fishing for piranha, to listening to the howler monkeys scream across the rain forest.

More soon,

Lisa

Another adventure. . .

Mariah enjoyed a post-birthday party on Tuesday when our good friend Jacquie arrived with the presents we'd ordered for her. (Everything is so much cheaper in the States) Mariah has had no interest in books until she recently read the condensed version of Anne of Green Gables and loved it. So this year, we got her the complete Anne of Green Gables series (all seven books). She can't wait to jump into them!






























Up until now our time here has been full with language, language, and uh. . .more language. After three and a half months of rarely leaving our section of the city and knowing that this might be our only chance while here in Brazil, we decided that it was time to take a few days off and explore the Amazon! The kids are ecstatic and we're pretty excited too. So stay tuned for some photos and commentary on our latest adventure!

Blessings!

Lisa

Updates from Africa

First of all, congratulations to Ronie who won a copy of DiAnn Mills' latest release, Awaken My Heart! (You can check out DiAnn's really cool contest at this link)

While we continue to pour ourselves into language learning, our hearts are still back in Africa. I thought you might enjoy a brief update of some of the things that are happening both in our ministry and in South Africa.

MOZAMBIQUE:

Bia and Gustava have a fantastic video of the work they've been doing in Mozambique the past few months. We are getting excited as we will be joining them soon. Please check out their video here.

SOUTH AFRICA:

Where were you when the lights went out?

My friend, Shirl Corder has an interesting blog post on the current dark days of South Africa. Serious power shortages have led to rolling blackouts across the country, making for a national crisis. Check out her informative post from February 2, 2008

ZIMBABWE: SCHOOLS OPEN UNDER DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES

An update from Janelle.

The Zimbabwe school year normally begins in the middle of January of each year. But in this distressful year, with Zimbabwe in complete economic collapse and teachers fleeing the country, many of the schools did not open until the beginning of February. Now all our children are back attending school and we are very thankful for this. But the schools are seriously understaffed, with one high school only having 6 teachers and another 4. Of course the children’s education is suffering.

The staff in Bulawayo continues to work with the children, ensuring they stay healthy both physically and spiritually. Cornelious, our director, is totally dedicated to each of our children, and to their families and caregivers, even to the point that he sometimes takes the children into his own home when the situation demands it.

The regular, day to day expenses of the ministry is being covered by sponsorships. This includes
the uniforms, school fees, medications provided for the sick, staff salaries, vehicle and office
expenses, etc. As the sponsorships increase, we will be able to take more children into the program. We now have 165 children, but there remain thousands that are in the same situation as our children.

Normally, the day to day running of the ministry does not include the distribution
of food, but because of the desperate food crisis in the country, late last year we began giving
each of the families food packets of basic foods stuffs, i.e. corn meal, cooking oil and soya
protein mixes. Because of this extra expense, we made an appeal and God blessed us with sufficient funds to cover the food for the next several months. As the food crisis continues, we will probably be making another appeal when these funds are used. We praise God for every person who gave to assist these helpless children.

Please continue praying for the many needs in this part of Africa. For more specific requests, you can visit the website for African Outreach Ministries

Blessings,

Lisa

Ever the Adventure. . .

Yesterday, Scott was supposed to preach at a house church about forty minutes away, so about nine o'clock we headed for the bus station where we were to met Francisco who would help us get to Indaiatuba. Of course, this was also the time it started pouring down rain!

I have to admit that I wasn't particularly happy at that moment. Getting drenched on the way to church isn't fun. Thankfully, the heavy rains let up fairly quickly, so with a back pack of dry clothes (just in case) we continued on toward the station. The only problem at this point was that we weren't sure exactly how far (or where) the main station was. So we jumped on a bus that was supposed to take us there, but when we arrived, we couldn't find our friend. A quick phone call confirmed that we were at the wrong station. With the bus to Indaiatuba leaving in ten minutes, we didn't have time to get there, but did find another bus that would get us there.
Not really complicated at all, right? Wrong.

We were on our way to the right city, but didn't know where to get off the bus. Scott thought he saw the exit to where the church met, but I wasn't too keen on getting off in the middle of the highway (yes they stop there) so we ended up going all the way into Indaiatuba. About thirty minutes past the church. Eventually, we had someone come and pick us up in his car, finally making it to church about three hours after we left home!

Thankfully, Brazilians aren't worried about time like Americans, and they were all happy to see us. Scott did a great job speaking, and we ended up having a wonderful time with the small group of Christians.

Once again, when it was time to leave (about seven that night) it was pouring again, so our friends graciously took drove us home even though it was not on their way. We are so thankful for this small group of Christians who have allowed us to be a part of their fellowship!

Thought you might enjoy a few photos of Brazil outside our neighborhood.

Prayer request: We've all been healthy the past three months of living here, but this weekend Scott came down with a cold and spend most of Saturday resting. Now, I'm coming down with the same thing, (he would have to share that!) but I really don't have time to be sick! Please pray that I can't shake this quickly and that the kids won't get sick.

Blessings,

Lisa

PS Don't forget to leave a comment on DiAnn Mill's interview by Wednesday for a chance to win a copy of her latest book!!!

Meet DiAnn Mills!

DiAnn Mills was one of my first writing mentors, so I'm thrilled to have her as a guest on my blog today. DiAnn is a best-selling author of twenty-three novels, twenty-two novellas, as well as the non-fiction release, Lost Boy No More that tells an incredible true story from Sudan.

Today, DiAnn is offering a free copy of Awaken My Heart, so be sure to leave a comment with a way for me to contact you! I'll draw a winner from the comments next Wednesday.

Here's what DiAnn has to say about her latest release.

When I was a kid, I used to get spanked for lying. Now I get paid for it! Ah, such is the life of a fiction writer. Hi, I’m DiAnn Mills, and I’m excited about Awaken My Heart, my new historical novel published by Avon Inspire.

I live in Texas, the Lone Star State, where history and adventure are carved out of ordinary people and presented in novels and across the screen. Texas provides the perfect setting for tales of adventure. Here you can find cowboys and rodeos, deserts and mountains, bluebonnets and cactus, rattlesnakes and alligators, trail rides and space exploration. The romance and intrigue of those who helped build this State weave powerful stories. You name it, and Texas has it. But it’s the stories about the courageous people who stand tall and make this state what it is today that captures the readers’ attention.

Let me introduce you to my February release!

Awaken My Heart is set in 1803, when Texas was Tejas, a colony ruled by Spain. Indians, Mestizos (native-Spanish lineage), and the elite ruling class of the Spanish lived and died here. The priests living in the Catholic missions helped educate and train the people in various crafts and how to serve God. From this culture was born my story of forbidden love.

Which brings me to one of my greatest heroes—Zorro. Who can forget the handsome, daring masked man who championed the poor and fought the injustices of his people? His flashing sword, generous smile, and chivalry would bend the strongest woman’s resolve. It also helped Zorro’s cause to be portrayed by Antonio Bandera in The Mask of Zorro (1998) and The Legend of Zorro (2005).

Is it no wonder that I call Awaken My Heart my Zorro book? My hero, Armando Garcia, is passionate about the cause of his poverty-stricken people, but his passion also extends to Marianne Wharton, the daughter of a wealthy American rancher. The wealthy and the peasant. The Diablo and his angel. And her daddy ain’t happy. Oops! I mean Marianne’s father is out for blood.

This isn’t the first book I’ve written about historical Texas. The Texas Legacy Series was set in the period of the Old West when lawlessness and unscrupulous characters crawled out from under rocks and attempted to claim the state. I chose unlikely heroes and heroines who made a courageous stand for what they believed in.

Hop into the saddle and grab the reins. This ride will keep you up all night.

Be sure and visit DiAnn's website for more information on all her books. She'd love to hear from you!

Blessings,

Lisa

Home again!

We arrived home late Tuesday night after an amazing four days at a church camp. It was so wonderful, in fact, that it didn't seem to matter that we got soaked in the rain again coming home from school yesterday, or that the rain has been so continuous that we had to set up a fan to dry our one set of sheets in order to go to bed.

Many churches in the area host Christian camps during carnival for families. So on Saturday, a friend picked us up and drove us to a city about an hour away where the camp was held in the middle of town. We were all a bit nervous arriving as we only knew two people. But God soon took care of that. By the time we left, I was in tears as this group had become like family.

Which really makes no earthly sense. Here we are, foreigners who are struggling to speak the language, yet we were honestly embraced as family. While there were a few people who were nervous to speak to us at first because they didn't speak English, they soon realized that was okay. Everyone became our language tutor and were patient and encouraging. I often sat for an hour or more, chatting to different women about all kinds of things. Another amazing thing considering this was all done in Portuguese! Besides making friends, my confidence has risen tremendously.

And the kids did fantastic. We were so proud of them for jumping in and making friends. They swam, played soccer, and tag with the kids the whole weekend.

Ministry times were incredible as well. We realized that we've felt dry spiritually. Going to church in another language isn't always easy, but for the first time, I actually worshiped in Portuguese. It brought me to tears, realizing that my spirit was singing and being refreshed in Portuguese! Scott preached Sunday night and did a great job (in English.) Before long he'll be preaching in Portuguese!

By the last afternoon, I was completely exhausted, but again we were blessed to spend some time with English students. They had patiently helped us with language all weekend, so we enjoyed a few hours of English conversation with them as well as teaching them a few songs in English.






We know without a doubt that God orchestrated this time here. Five months ago, God shut the door to our going to Portugal and we couldn't understand why. Now we are seeing Him build relationships with people in the most amazing ways. As we look at moving to Mozambique in the next few months, there is a good possibility that we will have additional team mates from here to work with us which is now one of our constant prayers.






God is so good, isn't He!

Thanks for sharing the journey with us,

Lisa

Win a copy of Recipe for Murder!

It's been raining for two weeks. This is wonderful for the temperature, as it was actually under 70 degrees in the house yesterday! I've had to pull out my sweater and extra blanket for the beds at night.

The only bad thing about the rain is that it makes going shopping a challenge. You can only juggle so many grocery bags while carrying an umbrella. And it takes a long time for our clothes to dry on the line.


But in exchange for the stifling hot weather, I'll take it!

Now for the free books!

If you haven't signed up to receive my newsletter click here for a chance to win one of FIVE copies of my first cozy mystery from Barbour Publishing. I'll be sending out my February newsletter next week along with the names of five winners drawn from those who are signed up.

I'm excited about this new series. (I just signed the contract for book three this week!) If you love a great mystery, with humor, and a strong spiritual message, I guarantee you'll love this book!

Sign up today!

I won't be posting until we return from our camp early next week. Please pray that we will have the courage and the vocabulary to work hard on our Portuguese during this time!

Blessings,

Lisa

Happy Birthday, Mariah!

We had a wonderful birthday celebration for Mariah this past weekend. She choose to go to the mall to watch a movie then have pizza after which was exactly what we did. It's hard to believe she's just turned nine!

I've noticed that my posts are coming fewer and farther between. There never seems to be enough time for everything I want to do. We've just made it to the halfway point of our stay here and every extra minute, it seems, is used for language. This weekend we are planning to attend a Christian camp for families (five days) which will mean total immersion in Portuguese. I'm VERY nervous, but at the same time excited as I know this will be a huge boost to our language.

We would really appreciate your prayers as we make it through this final stretch of our time here and anticipate returning to Africa.

Blessings!

Lisa

Taste of Brazil

I know I've mentioned before how much I love trying new foods, and living in Brazil has been no exception. The beans and rice are fantastic. The bakeries even better.

One of Scott's favorite meals can be bought along the side of the road. Take your ordinary hot dog, add peas and corn,
a bit of tomato and onion relish, mayo, mustard, mashed potatoes, and fried onions and you've got a meal in a bun. (Okay, I have to admit that this is not one of my favorites.)


We decided to forgo Pizza Hut last week and go for a more Brazilian pizza. Try this pizza on for size! When they say "Super Mega Pizza" they are not joking. And for less than twenty dollars it's a great deal as well.





























Want to try something different for dinner. This Stroganoff recipe has become one of our favorites. While I don't guarantee it's authenticity, Brazilians do love their stroganoff (and so do I!) I've never been one to follow a recipe, but you really can't go wrong on this one, so experiment and have enjoy! It's fast and easy.

2 pounds chicken breasts or beef strips
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion chopped
1/2 t nutmeg (don't leave this out!)
1/2 t oregano
4 T catsup
3 T yellow mustard
About 1 cup of heavy cream or creme fraiche. (You might be able to find Brazilian-style creme de leite in a Latino market.)

Cut up meat into small strips or pieces. Saute the meat, onion, and garlic and cook until meat is done. Add catsup and mustard and mix well. When ready to eat, add cream and cook for one minute.

Serve over rice and sprinkle matchstick potato chips on top.

And BTW, if you haven't signed up for my newsletter, click here. I'll be sending out my February newsletter soon with a chance to win a Taste of Brazil AND a copy of Recipe for Murder. 

Enjoy!

Lisa

Go Brazil!

Time seems to be getting shorter as each day passes and there never seems to be enough hours in the day for me to get everything done. In the process, I've perfected multi-tasking. I listen to Portuguese lessons while walking to school, help Jayden with English phonics while studying Portuguese grammar, iron the clothes while watching Portuguese TV (yes, watching TV is homework too!), listen to Portuguese music while cooking supper, and catch up on my blog while giving spelling tests.

Life has actually divided itself into three categories. Mornings are for home schooling, afternoons for Portuguese school and homework, and at night I write. Housework gets stuffed into the cracks.

Last week, while I stayed home and wrote, Scott took the kids to a soccer game with our school. As you can imagine, the boys especially loved every minute of it.

More photos later.

Blessings!

Lisa

New Friends

Early Monday morning, at two a.m. a couple of cars decided to park outside our bedroom window, block traffic, and throw a block party. For an hour they talked, cars hooted, and cell phones beeped. An hour or so later, we finally found out why when a tow truck showed up, making more noise then the block party.

Even a sleepless night, though, couldn't take away from wonderful experience we had on Sunday. One of the things we've been looking for is a small home cell where we can participate in worship and build relationships with some Brazilians. Last week, we'd invited a Brazilian couple over for supper who are apart of a group of house churches. She called us Sunday night to see if she could drop by for a visit with one of their leaders who wanted to meet us.

About an hour later she arrived with nine members of their home cell. They'd come to meet us, encourage us, and worship with us. I was completely overwhelmed by the wonderful fellowship as we praised God together in Portuguese. This group, fellow Christians we barely knew, made us feel a part of their family.

This group is passionate about Christ and are currently working in an area between here and Sao Paulo to start more house churches. They have offered to give us a ride on Sundays so we can be apart of one of the small groups, worship with them, and form relationships.

This is a huge answer to prayer for us and will dramatically help with our language learning as well.

Blessings!

Lisa

Love a Cozy Mystery?

If you love a good cozy mystery, then you've got to check out Barbour Publishing's new book club.

Heartsong Presents--MYSTERIES! is now accepting subscription orders and the first books will ship to customers before January comes to an end.

These are fantastic books and a bargain to boot! (only $13.99, including shipping, every six weeks for four brand new mysteries!)

And subscribers receive four FREE books in addition to the four they receive in their first month's shipment and there are no commitments to sign up.

Check out the details and subscribe HERE.

One of the reasons I'm excited about this club is because I have a new series coming out with them.

In RECIPE FOR MURDER, Pricilla Crumb’s guest list has just turned into a suspect list. . .for murder. Pricilla never expected to be involved in a real life mystery, but that’s exactly where she finds herself when one of the guests at her son’s hunting lodge is found dead after sampling one of her salmon-filled tartlets. Determined to discover the truth, this unconventional busybody follows one lead after another, dishing up laughter and suspense along the way.



Blessings!

Lisa

Never say never. . .

Nine months ago, I never considered moving to Mozambique let alone learning Portuguese. In fact, when we moved to South Africa four years ago, I specifically told Scott how glad I was to be moving to another primarily English speaking country because I wasn't going to learn another language. Studying both French and an African tribal language had taught me that language learning simply isn't one of my gifts.

Obviously God had other things in mind.

So I never imagined moving to Mozambique, studying Portuguese in Brazil. . .or home schooling.

Yes, homeschooling. While I can see the advantages, I've always believed that I'm not patient enough or experienced enough to teach three kids, in three different grades, let alone attempt to teach my youngest to read.

Never!

Hmmm. . .Like I just said, God must have had other things in mind.

Because here I am living in Brazil, learning Portuguese, and home schooling. And I have to admit the small amount of pride that swelled this week as Jayden started first grade. After weeks of working together he's reading!

Never say never. God just might surprise you!

Blessings,

Lisa

Let it Rain

It was bound to happen sooner or later.

Summer time in Brazil means rain, welcome on most days because of the heat. To escape the warm weather today, we took the kids to the movies on the bus. The moment I stepped into the air-conditioned mall I smiled despite the throng of people. I was cool at last.

The movie was fun, the kids happy, so after walking around a bit we headed back home.

We got off the bus at the apartment of one of Mariah's friends who had joined us for the day. Her mom had a baby yesterday, so we briefly visited the family, then headed home on foot.

We were still eight or so blocks from home, and the clouds had darkened considerably by the time we left the apartment building. We told the kids to hurry. We could make it. No problem.

Or so we thought. Within two minutes the heavens broke open and we were soaked. Let me tell you though, after being so hot this past week, all we could do was laugh and run through the rain with big smiles on our faces.

Enjoy your day today!

Lisa

No Regrets

It’s that time of year again, isn’t it? Time to reflect over the past year, where we are, and where we want to be. Add to that, my high school graduating class recently celebrated its twentieth class reunion and while I wasn’t able to attend, it’s been fun to catch up with several people I’d lost track of. It also made me spend time reflecting once again on the past two decades and where they’ve brought me.

Through all my reflections, one thing has stood out. God has always been there. While it hasn’t always been easy, I can look back at certain moments or milestones in our life where He’s has challenged me, convicted me, and moved me in directions I’d never planned.

Providential encounters where God asked me to step out on faith and trust Him.

About six years ago, we were living in the states, working and involved in our church. While we were fairly content with life, we felt God calling us to use our talents for Him again overseas. The question was where and when. We’d prayed about joining a team in Japan and even went there on a survey trip, but God firmly shut that door.

One Sunday after a mission’s day at church, we drove home discussing this desire to move back overseas. We talked about several possibilities including working with Scott’s aunt and uncle. They’d mentioned us to join them in the past, but it had simply been a comment in passing. If they sent us a formal invitation, Scott told me, he would know God was behind it.

Scott dropped the kids and I off at the house, then went to run an errand. I sat down to check my email. There it was. A letter from his aunt and uncle.

"Dear Scott and Lisa," it read. "We know we've mentioned it in the past, but we would like to extent to you and an official invitation to join us and the work here in southern Africa. . ."

A coincidence? No way. It was God’s hand orchestrating events in our lives.

I haven’t always responded in either faith or trust. Sometimes, I’ve preferred to walk away while fear reached out and pulled me under. I’ve ignored the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) moving of the Holy Spirit.

Yet still, He is faithful. I’ve seen it over and over.

Through the valley of infertility, He molded me. Through the miracle of adoptions, He brought me hope. Through the struggles of ministry, He’s teaching me to daily rely on him. Through childrearing and now home schooling, He’s teaching me patience and unconditional love. Through my writing, He’s opened doors I would have never thought possible. In moving to Brazil, He’s continues to stretch me and grow my faith.

My list could go on and on. The times I listened. The times I chose to ignore. His faithfulness never failed.

Any achievements have been from His hand. He’s brought good from difficulties, broadened our horizons, and stayed faithful to each and every promise. As James 1:17 says, every good and perfect gift is from above.

And when I stop and look over the past years, I realize that that very promise is true. Everything good, has come from Him.

Saying yes to His call still isn’t always easy. But my goal for the coming year is to live with no regrets. I want to hear God’s calling in everything and act. I was struck with how a friend recently put it. “I choose to say ‘I’ll go wherever You lead me….’ It is a daily process of dying to self, isn’t it?”

Wow. Powerful stuff.

Happy New Year,

Lisa

The greatest gift of all. . .

It's six pm and the thermometer in my room, where I normally work, reads 90 degrees. No wonder I've been so miserably hot these past few days, not sleeping, and moving slower than a sloth. Somehow I managed to spend a couple hours ironing, finish my word count for the week, study my Portuguese, and straighten Mariah's hair. I'd take a nap if I could, but it's simply too hot.

Okay, enough of the negative.

This Christmas I received one of the most special gifts to date. A book, written by my daughter. It's entitled "The Little Boy Who Enjoyed Christmas" and she wrote it for me because she knows how much I love books.

This particular book, has just hit number one on my list, because it was a book, straight from her heart. And one that tells me just how much she loves me.

I'm writing another book right now, and it's spiritual theme has been a constant reminder to me of another gift. While Christmas might be a time to rememeber Christ's birth, the reason for His coming to earth was to ransom each one of us from death.

“And they sang a new song with these words: “You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” Revelation 5:9 NLT

From every tribe. Every language. Every people. And every nation.

That's how much He loves us.

Blessings,

Lisa

Twas the night before Christmas. . .

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house the occupants were sweating including the mouse.

The stockings were hung by the floor fan with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The children had thrown off the sheets from their beds, while visions of mangos danced in their heads.

And mamma in her tank top and I in my shorts, had just settled down for a long summer night. When out on the street there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

To the open window I flew like a flash, and searched the horizon for signs of a crash. The sky was filled with red, yellow, and blue, as rounds of fireworks exploded till two.

It might be December, without snow and icicles, but for us it’s summer, time for swimming and bicycles.

Happy Holidays!

School's out!

After six weeks of grueling language study, I’ve made it to the intermediate level just in time for a much needed two week break from classes. These two weeks, though, won’t be work free. I have lots of studying to do before going back, mainly learning vocabulary and verb conjugation.

I’ve also been instructed by my teacher to watch as much television as I can. Strange homework, isn’t it? But I’ve found that it really does help. The more I listen to the language, the faster I learn.

Before I share a story about Scott, I have to brag a bit on him. His Portuguese has exploded in the past few weeks. He’s returned items, made doctors appointments on the phone, taken Gabriel to the dentist, caught the city bus, and much, much more.

The other day, though, he was in a store and needed to find out the price for something. Most stores have scanners where you can find the price, but this store’s scanner was broken. He went up to the counter to ask, but there were a lot of people milling around, and he couldn’t hear the employee’s answer to his question. So he pulled on his ear to imply he couldn’t hear her and asked if she would write down the price.

And she did. In great detail. Then he realized, as he walked out the door, that the woman had thought he was deaf. Ah, the joys of language learning.

I often have to remind myself why I’m here in Brazil, learning another language and trying to adapt to another culture. Through it all, though, God has continued to be so faithful. He‘s made our family closer, forming us into a team, giving us new experiences, and sending us new friends.

May each of you have a blessed weekend, remembering the real reason of the season!

“Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:28

Blessings,

Lisa

A Big Apple Christmas

If you're looking for a great stocking stuffer or simply a holiday read to get yourself in the Christmas spirit, check out this new novella collection from Barbour Publishing, A Big Apple Christmas.

I recently interviewed some of the authors from this collection, and here's what they had to say.

LISA: What is the premise of the collection?

CARRIE: A BIG APPLE CHRISTMAS includes four novellas set in New York City during the Christmas season. The sights and traditions of Christmas in The City are the unifying factors that draw the stories together. In my novella, “Moonlight & Mistletoe,” Christmas plans are set askew when professional organizer Sarah Montgomery meets free-spirited poet Justin Latimer. As they work together on a project for her neighbor, romantic sparks fly, but new revelations threaten to douse them.

LISA: What’s it like working with three other authors on one story? Any challenges, rewords?

LYNETTE: The rewards are the best part. It’s fun seeing someone else’s version of your vision. The challenge in collaboration is the give and take. Our biggest discussion was about the weather. Christmas Eve, for example, had to have the same weather in all four stories. 

VASTHI: As the new writer among the bunch I was apprehensive that I’d need too much of their time. But these ladies were fantastic! They were very willing to give me feedback and help me make my story the best it could be. Their honesty was a gift.

LISA: I find in my own writing that I often grow alongside my characters, especially spiritually. Is there a character who you relate to and who made an input on your life?

CARRIE: It’s easy for me to relate to Sarah, the heroine in my novella. She likes to have her home and her life all neat and orderly so that she has a sense of control. I tend to be like that, and I have to guard against valuing neatness over time with family and relaxing and enjoying life with them. Sarah learns some important lessons about trusting God and allowing her faith to permeate her relationships. That’s an area I am working on in my life, too.

VASTHI: My character, Cecilia, is a hard working grad student. The first in her family to go to college, much less get a graduate degree. She feels the burden of her family’s expectations and wants to make them proud. When she sees all of her hard work going down the tubes, she panics. The lesson she learns—that we can’t rely on our own strength and abilities but must trust in God alone—is a lesson I needed to learn.

LISA: What is the number one thing you’ve learned from your writing journey?

LYNETTE: Patience, especially because I don’t have everything figured out.

CARRIE: It is an awesome privilege to touch people’s hearts and lives through my writing. I need to continually seek the Lord and be in touch with Him as I write so that my writing can have the impact He desires it to have.

VASTHI: I’ve learned that as much as I wanted to be published, and this is my first published novella, it is not as much fun as the actual writing.

LISA: Any future plans for your writing you’d like to share? Any specific dreams you’d like to accomplish in the area of writing?

LYNETTE: I’d like to write bigger books. As one who’s always had to add words to what she writes, this novella gave me the happy chore of trimming. I hope that I’m growing as a writer, not just getting wordier. My big dream is to write full-time, but until then I’m doing the best I can working a regular 40-hour work week and fitting writing in on nights and weekends.

CARRIE: I want to continue to grow and improve as a writer, and I know that takes perseverance and commitment on my part. Some day I hope to write a story set in Africa that highlights the beauty of the land, the shining faith of the believers, and also shows the needs. Recently, I’ve been very touched by a ministry called Charity: Water. They raise funds to drill wells all over Africa and provide clean water and hope for communities there. I would love to highlight their work in one of my books and help raise awareness and support.

VASTHI: I’ve written a trilogy based on a modern adaptation of the book of Ruth with Latino characters which I hope will get published.

LISA: Because I know there are many aspiring writers out there, can you share any tidbits of wisdom on getting published?

VASTHI: God opened a door for me in His timing. Wait on Him. Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it. 1Thess. 5:24.

LISA: Any advise in working together as a team/preparing a novella proposal?

LYNETTE: Keep an open mind. Don’t rush. Trying to coordinate four writers’ schedules isn’t easy. But hang in there. The project will come together.

LISA: Any writer’s resources you could recommend?

CARRIE: I often consult Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne and King and Plot and Structure by James Bell, I also like to buy the MP3 from the ACFW Conference and listen to all the classes and workshops.

LISA: Thanks so much for stopping by, ladies! If you'd like to read more about these authors and their books, please check out their websites.

Carrie Turansky
Vasthi Reyes Acosta
Lynette Sowell
Gail Sattler
A Big Apple Christmas Site

It's a wild ride. . .

I originally thought I’d post about our wild ride to the mall on the city bus. Then I realized that life in general has been a bit of a wild ride lately. With the ups and downs of language school, home schooling, and book deadlines, life is good, but never dull.

Take for instance the Christmas party we attended this past week. It was a dress-up holiday dinner hosted by our language school, held, of course, on the day it began to rain. We were to catch a ride that evening, but still had to walk the mile or so to the school where the van was waiting for us.

By the time we left, it was pouring.

We walked five in a row, each with an umbrella, up the drenched sidewalk, trying to stay as dry as possible. My sandals slipped off constantly as I sludged through ankle-deep puddles, dodged the spray of water from cars as they zoomed by, and balanced my umbrella, a backpack, and a cheese ball. Yes, a cheese ball. My contribution to the evening’s festivities that turned out to be a great hit, by the way.

The party was a mixture of cultures and languages from around the world. From Greece to Madagascar, and the USA to France, and even a couple from South Africa who spoke to Mariah in Afrikaans, a language she misses. We ended up having a great time, great food, and made some new friends.

Going to the mall the week before had been an even bigger adventure. We caught the first bus that dropped us at the spot where we could catch a second bus. With our vacuum cleaner in hand--the one I was so excited to have until it literally exploded in a puff of smoke after one week--needing to be returned, we watched for the number of our bus.

Within two minutes we saw it. . .and then saw it zoom past.

Obviously, we’d missed something in Bus Etiquette 101. Turns out, you have to step out and flag the bus down. Which we did after waiting another twenty minutes or so. Once on the bus, there was no place to sit, so I stood holding onto a pole for dear life with Jayden clinging to my leg as the bus wound it’s way through the city. There are no straight road, it seems, and the bus driver turned at every corner leaving us feeling as if we’d paid for a ticket on a rollercoaster instead of a trip to the mall.

At one point, I asked Scott if he had seen how close we’d come to hitting a passing bus. He hadn’t. His eyes were closed.

We continued down narrow streets where old men played board games along the side of the road, tiny shops sat sandwiched between fenced-in houses, and moms pushed babies in buggies. Colorful bougainvillea climbed garden the walls, spilling over the top for us to see, while in the distance, dozens of high-rise apartment buildings filled the sky line.

Strangely enough, it's all beginning to feel like home. I decided yesterday that home doesn't have to be a permanent address where I've live my whole life. It's a place where love and laughter ring forth above the challenges. Where I can smile across the table at my children while playing another round of Mexican Train and listen to Portuguese music compete with the now familiar sounds of cars zooming past our house with their horns blaring.

Blessings,

Lisa

An early Christmas

Congratulations to Patty, Ruth, Shirl, Ronie, Carol, and a sixth winner, Alene, for sending me a personal email I couldn't refuse. I'll be contacting you soon to get your mailing addresses!

Enjoy!

If you missed the contest and would like to order A Matter of Trust you can call my publisher at 1-800-847-8270 or visit Barbour's Website website. It will be available at Christianbooks.com
and other retailers after it goes through the Heartsong book club.

I also got a bit of an early Christmas present today! We've been really missing Tex-Mex here in Brazil. We can find tortillas for about $3 each (each tortilla, not each package!), but no salsa. A can of refried beans is about $10! Taco seasoning is also horribly expensive.

So yesterday for dinner I made a Mexican dish from scratch using home made salsa, taco seasoning I'd brought with me, plain yogurt, and a crust made from pie pastry. It was actually great, but not exactly real Tex-Mex.

Well, Scott went to pick up a few groceries at the store today, and when I got back from school, he had a wrapped package waiting for me. An early Christmas!

As you might have guessed, the store had packages of tortillas on sale. Packages of ten for about $2.50. Scott bought every package they had!

Guess what's for dinner?

Blessings,

Lisa

Merry Christmas to you!

I think I've mentioned before how hard it is for me to get into the holiday spirit when it's so hot outside. For the past several years, I've spend Christmas in the southern hemisphere which definitely means hot! We've added a few more presents under the tree which has the kids anticipating Christmas morning.

To thank you for following my blog this past year, I'm going to give away five copies of A Matter of Trust (hot off the press!) to the first FIVE people who leave a comment and a way to contact you.

Merry Christmas!

Look for more giveaways in the coming weeks including A Taste of Brazil gift box!

And in all the rush of the season, remember the One who sent His son to earth, giving us the greatest gift of all.

Blessings,

Lisa

PS For some reason I'm not able to post photos today. Santa sightings coming soon. . .

The city that never sleeps. . .

I’ve made a few interesting observations about life in Brazil in the few weeks we’ve lived here. Number one is that the people are extremely friendly. Several Brazilians have gone out of their way to help us with a smooth transition, including the staff at our language school and our landlord. I’ve had a woman help translate the lesson during church, others give us directions on the street and help practice with conversation, and show us around the grocery store.

People also walk a lot here, which is nice because our walking everywhere doesn’t stand out like it would in South Africa. But even despite all the walking, the women wear high heals (we’re talking two to three inch heals) and high platform shoes. With most of the sidewalks uneven cobblestone, I honestly don’t know how they do it.

Another thing that intrigues me, is the security guards. Imagine a twenty-to-thirty-something year old guy, black suit, white button-down shirt, tie, and dark sunglasses. These guys stand in front of various stores, or sit on stools under a large umbrella, all day, and simply guard. They have walkie-talkies and seem to know everyone that passes. That’s got to be one of the most boring jobs ever created.

And then there’s nighttime. Last night was Friday night and about ten o’clock (the hour I’m ready for bed) the city comes alive. It happens on weeknights as well, but especially on the weekend, nighttime is party time. Horns blast, radios blare, shaking our house, cars backfire, and people shout. Add a victory for the soccer team, and there’ll be fireworks. And it goes on all night, until about four in the morning. I suppose we’re adjusting better, because while I still wake up several times at night, I am sleeping through most of it now.

So we are slowly beginning to adjust to our new life.

Today we had a bit of an adventure. We took the bus to the mall to do some last minute Christmas shopping. (The photo is of the mall.) I'll plan to post about our wild ride through the city soon.

Blessings,

Lisa

I did it!

This weekend, I finished my latest deadline with two weeks to spare! I still have some editing to do, but overall I’m excited about the story. It’s a romantic suspense dealing with an internet scam, and it was a lot of fun to write. It’s such a great feeling, reminding me why I love to write. I need to add a HUGE thank you to my crit partners, Ronie, Beth, Susan, Lynette, Darlene, and my hubby Scott. I never could have finished with out you all!

I have two more books to write in the next eight months. The first one is book three in my upcoming cozy mystery series with Barbour Publishing. Pricilla Crumb, the heroine of my series, is a quirky, retired home economics teacher who never fails to do the unexpected. This has been such a fun series to write. Here’s a teaser from book one that releases in February, along with the cover.

Pricilla Crumb’s guest list has just turned into a suspect list. . .for murder. Pricilla never expected to be involved in a real life mystery, but that’s exactly where she finds herself when she joins her son at his hunting lodge in the beautiful Colorado mountains. Laced with a spiritual message and a sprinkle of romance, Pricilla Crumb is determined to discover the truth, this unconventional busybody follows one lead after another, dishing up laughter and suspense along the way.

Barbour Publishing’s new cozy mystery book club debuts next month, and if you enjoy reading cozy mysteries, you’ll love these books. I’ll be passing on the details of how to join soon, as well as a peek at my latest video trailer.

The second book I’ll be working on is an international suspense novel set in Africa that I’ve been wanting to write for a long time. About a year ago, God’s opened a door for it, and I can’t wait to see where it leads.

Regarding my writing, I prayed a lot when we felt God’s call into Mozambique. Should I quit writing? Did He want me to continue balancing children, ministry, and writing, or focus simply on family and ministry? I asked Him to shut doors if he wanted me to quit, and in the meantime, decided to take off the next six months to focus on Portuguese school.

But the doors didn’t shut. Instead of taking time off, I ended up selling a book in less than a month. In my experience, this rarely happens. Then when I met with another editor about my African suspense series, another door flung wide open.

Life is full of opportunities for each one of us, and as I’ve mentioned many times, balancing those opportunities can often be difficult. We go through seasons of life where family takes priority, with young children, siblings, or perhaps aging parents. There are needed times of renewal, times of accomplishment, and times when we need to simily stop and listen to His voice.

In it all, God only calls us to be faithful to Him.

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:17

Where ever you are in life today, may God bless you as you seek His face.

Blessings,

Lisa